IFES Welcomes New Vice President

Mark P. Adams will serve as Vice President for External Relations and Resource Development

The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) today announced that Mark P. Adams will join the organization as Vice President for External Relations and Resource Development (ERRD). 

As Vice President, Adams will help develop and implement IFES’s strategic plan and targets for financial growth and influence, and strengthen IFES’s position as a thought leader and clear choice for implementing programs in the democracy, human rights, and governance space.

“Mark brings a unique combination of global fundraising leadership experience and strategic marketing and communications expertise,” said Anthony Banbury, President and CEO of IFES. “Mark’s leadership and his track record leading revenue growth and funding diversification will be pivotal in bringing IFES to the next level of excellence as we confront new and challenging threats to democracy around the world.”

Adams joins IFES from Population Services International (PSI), where he was Director of Institutional Fundraising. He was integral to PSI’s strategic planning and fundraising, leading a team that consistently achieved over $400 million in yearly business revenues. Prior to his work at PSI, Adams served in several marketing and communications leadership roles with leading advertising agencies RTC (now known as Wunderman) and Blattner Brunner (now known as Brunner), as well as with premier global financial services firms such as T. Rowe Price and Merrill Lynch.

Adams serves on the Board of Trees.org, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the livelihoods of impoverished farmers by revitalizing degraded lands. Adams holds a B.A. in political science from Bucknell University and an M.B.A. from Virginia Tech. 
 
Adams’ first day in the role is November 6, 2023.
 
The executive search was conducted by Pangburn International LLC of Washington, D.C.